Fentanyl Exposure In Harford Changes Approach To Overdoses: Sheriff

BEL AIR, MD — An officer in Harford County got firsthand experience with opioids while responding to an overdose call in Abingdon last month; now the Harford County Sheriff's Office has literally equipped itself in response, stocking up on new gear, including protective suits, to keep officers safe.

Corporal Kevin Phillips of the Harford County Sheriff's Office Southern Precinct said he had just opened a drawer at the scene of an overdose when his face started burning, he broke out in a sweat and felt dizzy.

"I pictured myself lying on the ground and EMS trying to revive me," Phillips told media afterward.

The substance he was exposed to was a mixture of heroin, fentanyl and lactose, Harford County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kyle Andersen told Patch this week.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is similar to morphine; and contact with a few grains of the powder can be fatal.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler called synthetic opioids a “game changer."

After the incident in Abingdon, the sheriff's office put together "go bags" for supervisors responding to overdose calls with deputies, Andersen said. Respirator masks, eye protection, Tyvek protective suits, arm coverings, non-latex gloves and booties are included in the emergency response kits.

Additionally, one rescuer is now designated to be on standby at each overdose call in case a first responder is exposed to the effects of the drugs and cannot self-administer Narcan, the antidote to an opioid overdose.

When medics administered Narcan to Corporal Phillips in the May 19 overdose call in Abingdon, they were exposed to the synthetic opioid as well, the Harford County Office of Drug Control Policy reported.

As a result of their contact with fentanyl, officials said two Abingdon emergency medical providers, Phillips and the person whose overdose prompted the call were all treated.

Phillips was treated at the hospital for his exposure and released that night, Andersen said; he returned to work the next day.

Harford County is not an isolated case. First responders in Connecticut, Georgia, New Jersey and Ohio have also suffered from fentanyl exposure, according to U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

"Fentanyl exposure can injure or kill innocent law enforcement officers and other first responders. Inhaling just a few airborne particles could be fatal," Rosenstein said. "This is not a hypothetical problem....The spread of fentanyl means that any encounter a law enforcement officer has with an unidentified white powder could be fatal."

Drug dealers have been using fentanyl in conjunction with or in lieu of heroin because it is cheaper.

"You can get a kilogram of fentanyl for about $3,500 compared to a kilo of heroin, which is running about $60,000," Lt. Jeffrey Kloiber of Maryland State Police said on June 6 while discussing the opioid epidemic on Comcast Newsmakers. He said fentanyl was coming from China.

Before Corporal Phillips was exposed to the drug in Harford County, Sheriff Gahler emailed a message to members of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office about the dangers presented by fentanyl and carfentanil, encouraging officers to take appropriate precautions when responding to overdoses.

To prevent future danger from fentanyl, Harford County first responders and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have revised their approach to overdose calls.

Fire and rescue personnel are looking at their options for new equipment and evaluating all their options, according to Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association.

The DEA has also taken up the matter, issuing "Fentanyl: A Briefing Guide for First Responders" this month.

"I need you to be safe, so please listen; illegal fentanyl is causing a crisis in our nation," DEA Chief Chuck Rosenberg said in a message with the new DEA guidelines for first responders. "Fentanyl is deadly. Exposure to an amount equivalent to a few grains of sand can kill you."

Photo of Corporal Kevin Phillips courtesy of the Harford County Sheriff's Office.